Vanilla-bean ice cream sandwiches {grain-free}

Chewy chocolate cookies. Rich vanilla bean ice cream.

One of my childhood loves was ice cream sandwiches. You know the ones I mean. Wrapped in paper. Rectangles of chocolate cake-style cookie on the outside, with super-sweet faux vanilla ice cream inside. I loved to squish them slightly as they got melty, running my tongue around the edge to catch the ice cream.

For my second frozen treat of July, I updated that childhood favorite, making grain-free cookies from nut meal. And real vanilla bean ice cream, egg yolks and all. But no dairy. Instead, I used coconut milk, like the Culinary Coconut Milk from So Delicious. Once frozen, these taste remarkably like my childhood treat. Which is even more surprising as I used carob powder in place of cocoa powder, and no heavy cream.

If you wish to make the ice cream vegan, omit the egg yolks and substitute 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum or 2 tsp. organic cornstarch. Make a slurry with either of these and some of the coconut milk, then whisk into the coconut milk on the stove and heat until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Migraine peeps: Use sunflower seeds ground into flour for the cookies, and carob powder instead of cocoa powder. While these do have a small amount of natural sweetener, they should be okay for an occasional treat.

Tips for making ice cream sandwiches without swearing a blue streak:

Make sure your cookies are completely cool. Then freeze them for at least 30 minutes.

Grind the nuts or seeds into a flour in a food processor as follows: Add about 1/3 of the nuts or seeds and 1/3 of the cocoa or carob powder. Process until the nuts or seeds are finely ground. Don't overprocess or it will start turning into nut butter. Dump out into a large mixing bowl. Repeat until all nuts/seeds are ground.

Mix in the remaining ingredients, stirring until completely mixed.

Preheat oven to 325F/165C/gas mark 3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Drop batter in one tablespoon measures, then spread into a circle with your spoon. Try to make them as uniform in size as possible.

Bake for 15 minutes until cookies are firm. Cool completely, then freeze.